Eva Cassidy

Eva Cassidy's story is a sad one, certainly, but the bittersweet happy ending to it all is that her singing, music, and recordings continue to live on and gather fans and admirers even after her early death from melanoma cancer in 1996 at the age of 33. Cassidy was never really known outside of the Washington D.C. area during her lifetime, and her recorded legacy consists of a live album, assorted other live tracks, an album of duets, and a handful of demos. She was a masterful song interpreter, able to take on almost any song in any style or genre and spin her voice around it, giving it a kind of haunting and sincere freshness. This set makes a great introduction to Cassidy's style and substance, collecting her key and signature performances from all of the above sources.

Songbird is a 1998 compilation CD by Eva Cassidy. This was released on the Blix Street label.

Though many recording artists meld and straddle a variety of genres, few if any defy categorization by excelling in so many disparate styles as the late Eva Cassidy. The diverse offerings from the evocative thrush from Washington, D.C. – who died tragically of melanoma in 1996 at age 33 – run the gamut from the radio-friendly pop cover of Sting's "Fields of Gold" to a jazz chanteuse rendition of the standard "Autumn Leaves" to the soulful R&B of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" to her spine-tingling gospel delivery of "Oh, Had I a Golden Thread." Cassidy's mastery of each is perhaps best evidenced by the fact that the Washington Area Music Association honored her (in 1996) as Best Female Vocalist in four separate categories: blues, contemporary jazz, traditional jazz, and roots rock/traditional R&B, in addition to naming her Artist of the Year, and her then-current release, Live at Blues Alley, Album of the Year.

"The latest chapter in an unparalleled posthumous career, I Can Only Be Me is a landmark new collaborative album with the London Symphony Orchestra. Eva Cassidy’s original vocal parts have been isolated and accompanied by new arrangements written by Christopher Willis (Schmigadoon!, Death of Stalin) and William Ross (Star Wars, Harry Potter). Utilising new machine learning technologies, existing vocal parts have been painstakingly restored to reveal previously unheard clarity and depth. The result is an emotive, atmospheric album, lush soundscapes accompanying pristine vocals. The album features redefining new versions of classic repertoire including Songbird, Time After Time, Autumn Leaves and Ain’t No Sunshine."

These 12 tracks are all previously unreleased Eva Cassidy recordings. Together, they are a ticket back to Eva's accidental Western Swing Night.

These 12 tracks are all previously unreleased Eva Cassidy recordings. Together, they are a ticket back to Eva's accidental Western Swing Night.